It’s Fall already. How did that happen? I blinked and Summer vanished into the ether. I love Fall though, all the colours and leaves, yellow and golds galore. Not too hot, fabulous running weather.

And I managed to get to Scotland for the first time. A work trip, but I’ll take it. Stayed at the Ardoe House, a small, cute castle manor that was darn amazing. Both Aberdeen and Edinburgh were fabulous, I’ll have to get back out there again with more time to explore. Edinburgh has lots of bookstores. And pubs. And stone. What’s not to love?

And on a totally different note, while I don’t write a lot of crime or mystery of late (or anything for that matter), I’ll be reading at the Calgary version of Noir at the Bar on December 3rd.

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Too many projects, not nearly enough time to write. As always.

Current projects:

• Grinding away editing and assembling the upcoming Purgatorio Sloth anthology, titled Noonday Demon, from The Seventh Terrace. We’ve put a pin on March 7th, 2026 to have that one out.

Next publications:

• Cheeseburger Philosophy and the King of Kings story (from Terrace VI: Forbidden Fruit) will be in Monstrous Angels, on November 20 2025.

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Signed up for the Alpenglow 100 ultra for Summer of 2026. God help my poor feets. Will probably do an easier trail race in the Spring as well.

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Recent movies and television:

• Enter Nowhere – good premise, but not sure it stuck the landing.
• Devil in the Dark – cool idea, not sure I totally understood it.
• Lost Cities with Albert Lin – Slick yet almost silly.

I’m currently reading:

• Lies Weeping by Glen Cook (a new Black Company book after so damn long)
• Enshittification by Cory Doctorow (excellent, but it’ll make you furious!)
• This Inevitable Ruin by Matt Dinniman (fun)

I’m currently listening to:

• Archotechna – Deep in the Mechanicum
• Front Line Assembly – Tactical Neural Implant
• Front Line Assembly – Caustic Grip

Summer is drifting away. At least the weather here in Okotoks has been excellent the last couple of weeks, making up, somewhat, for the six weeks of rain and gloom.

One highlight of August was the annual Calgary literary conference When Words Collide 2025. Beyond being the co-chair and on the conference committee, I ran the Merchant Room and was part of a number of panels and events including Sword & Sorcery: Now and Then, The End of Evil, Live Action Slush (Fantasy/Urban Fantasy) and Noir at the Bar (in a real bar for a change!).

And speaking of literary pursuits, my story “Cheeseburger Philosophy and the King of Kings” will be out in a fabulous new anthology Monstrous Angels come November. Love the cover!

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Now that all the Summer events are done, it’s time for…Fall events. But still time for writing.

Current projects:

• Completed writing (with Sarah L. Pratt) a Trace and Solomon story called ‘The Boiling Confluence’ for our upcoming Purgatorio Sloth anthology.
• Editing all the stories for the upcoming Purgatorio Sloth anthology from The Seventh Terrace.
• Tuning up a few short stories to resubmit to various markets.
• Outlining a new Prairie Gothic novel.

Next publications:

• Cheeseburger Philosophy and the King of Kings story (from Terrace VI: Forbidden Fruit) will be in Monstrous Angels, in November 2025.
• A flash titled ‘To the Bone’ will be coming out sometime in 2025. Hopefully…
• My cosmic horror novel A Queen in Amber will be out Fall of 2025.

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The Great Canadian Death Race ended up being less than ideal. Rainy, muddy, and injured. At least I’ll have time to recover before racing in 2026!

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Recent movies and television:

• Ghost Stories (2017) – Was okay until the end.
• Junk Head – An excellent stop motion movie – track this down!
• The Girl on the Third floor – hmm

I’m currently reading:

• Moonflow by Bitter Karella (decent)
• A Short Stay in Hell by Steven L. Peck (thought provoking and excellent)
• The Drawing of the Dark by Tim Powers (re-read – all time favourite)
• The Butcher’s Masquerade by Matt Dinniman (fun)

I’m currently listening to:

• Red Hot Chili Peppers – Californication
• Van Halen – 1984
• Billy Idol – Cyberpunk

It’s been a great July (aside from the overly complicated and fickle weather). Had a fun week running beautiful trails and drinking wild cocktails in Victoria, BC. Then did a road trip to southern Saskatchewan where we camped at the amazing Saskatchewan Landing Provincial Park, explored Swift Current (so loved Nightjar!), and then more exploration in Moose Jaw for the tunnels and bookstores and other weird old places. Especially loved staying at the stately Grant Hall Hotel and going for dinner at fabulous Hopkins Dining Parlour. Even met the Mayor of MJ in the Burrowing Owl Lounge!

And somewhere along the way my Sword & Sorcery story, ‘Chitin is not Bone’, was published in the July Issue of Crimson Quill Quarterly, alongside some fantastic authors.

“…after a furtive flight across Quall, Lord Ravencroft, the Baron of Bone, and Lady Cyn, Knight of Lost Carcosa, found themselves sodden and miserable, deep within the jungle canyons of Tsombu.” – Karl Kurlander, Cyn and Bones, Volume One

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Summer is busy, busy, but still writing where possible. I’m happy to announce I’ll have a story in the Monstrous Angels anthology coming out in the Fall I believe. More info when I have it, but I’ll be happy to see my Cheeseburger Philosophy and the King of Kings story (from Terrace VI: Forbidden Fruit) reprinted. One of my favourite stories! Be great if more people read and hopefully enjoyed it.

Current projects:

• Writing (with Sarah L. Pratt) a Trace and Solomon story tentatively called ‘The Boiling Confluence’.
• Writing another Cyn and Bones Sword & Sorcery story tentatively called ‘The Surly Merman’.

Next publications:

• Cheeseburger Philosophy and the King of Kings story (from Terrace VI: Forbidden Fruit) will be in Monstrous Angels, sometime later in 2025.
• A flash titled ‘To the Bone’ will be coming out sometime in 2025. Hopefully…
• My cosmic horror novel A Queen in Amber will be out Fall of 2025.

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The Great Canadian Death Race is this upcoming weekend – thankfully only the Near Death Marathon. The weather is in flux, so I’m praying that it’s not too cold/rainy, but that’s part of the charm.

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Recent movies and television:

• Sinners – Might be the best movie of the year! Loved it. And love the blues.
• Demonic – Can’t say it stuck the ending, but decent.
• Murderbot (Apple) – Enjoyable. I see it’s renewed for season 2, so yay.
• Love Island USA S7 (Crave) – got sucked into this. Again. Hmm.
• Strange New Worlds S3 (Paramount) – always fun.
• The Long Way Home (Apple) – still chugging away on it.

I’m currently reading:

• Within the Weeping Eye by Mathew John
• The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman (done! on audiobook. Excellent)
• Carl’s Doomsday Scenario by Matt Dinniman (done! Loved it)
• The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook by Matt Dinniman (done! Loved it)

I’m currently listening to:

• Sinners Soundtrack
• Ozzy Osbourne – Bark at the Moon

The release of Desert Artemisia: Badlands Bits & Bones on June 4th was a fabulous party and a total blast! We literally packed the Owl’s Nest Books, standing room only. Lots of readings, poetry, art, and music. I love mixed media projects, definitely be doing more of these.

We sold a ton of books and hit the local best seller list, second only to The Seventh Terrace’s very own Sarah L. Pratt’s novella They’re all Named Poppy that launched at the same event.

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Still not finding a ton of time to write, but such is life. I’m happy to announce I sold my latest story, a Sword & Sorcery tale, to Crimson Quill Quarterly. It will be in their July 2025 issue, and I’m totally stoked. It’s a fantastic magazine. I’ll be in great company for this one.

Current projects:

• Started writing a new Sword & Sorcery story tentatively called ‘One Surly Merman’.

Next publications:

• A Sword & Sorcery story called ‘Chitin is Not Bone’ will be out Summer of 2025 in Crimson Quill Quarterly.
• A flash titled ‘To the Bone’ will be coming out the Spring of 2025.
• My cosmic horror novel A Queen in Amber will be out Fall of 2025.

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Ran the 50k distance Klondike Ultra trail race in last week. Not a mountain race, but most of the trails were sand. Which was challenging to say the least. Finished with a decent time, even with my poor destroyed feet, so there’s that. Fort Assiniboine and Sandhills Wildland Provincial Park are quite the places. Bit wild, mostly in a good way, and so entirely elemental. Not sure I’d run that one again, yet I’m glad I did it once.

Next up, I’ll be running Death Race again – thankfully only the Near Death Marathon this time. So, a hell of a lot of vertical training for the next few weeks.

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Recent movies and television:

• Murderbot (Apple)
• The Long Way Home (Apple)
• Hell Hole (Shudder)

I’m currently reading:

• The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones
• Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman (done! – great fun)
• Carl’s Doomsday Scenario by Matt Dinniman
• Crimson Quill Quarterly back issues (#2-#3)
• The Devils by Joe Abercrombie (Audio)

I’m currently listening to:

• Van Halen – 1984
• Tom Petty – Into the Great Wide Open
• Desert Artemisia – Jim Jackson

After a lot of wrangling, I’m super stoked to see our new book come out next month. If you’re in Calgary June 4th, come join us.

The Alberta Badlands. A region better known for what lies beneath – coal, fossils, and the geologic strata of deep time – than what lives above. Living itself is an act of rebellion in these scarred hills. Alongside the hardy sage, prickly pear, and circling crows, there are certain people drawn to the fragile beauty of this land, where Old Gods emerge from the sun-baked sediment, calling to lost souls. A broken-hearted grave digger discovers that nothing in the badlands can be buried, without unearthing something else.  In the long shadow of the Hoodoos, night blooming flowers conceal a gateway to salvation, and immortality is on offer within the damp, black wounds carved deep into the earth. But always for a price. The price of bone, and blood. Desert Artemisia is a collection of fiction, poetry, illustrations, and music created and curated by artists deeply captivated by one of the most haunting places on Earth.

With art by Janice Blaine, Poems and Photography by Peter Story and Bob Canuel, Music by Jim Jackson, and prose by Jim Jackson, Lareina Abbott, F.B. McRory, Sarah L. Pratt and Robert Bose

Arriving Early June, 2025

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Not much time to write of late, but I chip away at it when possible.

Current projects:

• Polishing up a story called ‘Greywater Blues’ for the next Purgatorio Curio titled Terrace IV: Noonday Demon.
• Completed and started subbing a Sword & Sorcery story called ‘Chitin is Not Bone’.

Next publications:

• My story prairie gothic story ‘Blackdamp’ will be in a book titled Desert Artemisia, out Spring of 2025
• A flash titled ‘To the Bone’ will be coming out the Spring of 2025 – details to follow once I can reveal them.
• My cosmic horror novel A Queen in Amber will be out Summer of 2025.

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Next ultramarathon will be the 50k at Klondike Ultra in June. Then, rather regrettably, I’ll be running Death Race again – thankfully only the Near Death Marathon this time.

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Recent movies and television:

• The Bondsman on Prime.
• Soooo many B movies on Tubi

I’m currently reading:

• The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty
• Dun Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
• Times Never Change by John R. Fultz (done!)
• Crimson Quill Quarterly #6
• Swords & Sorceries – Tales of Heroic Fantasy #10
• Savage Realms Monthly – multiple issues

I’m currently listening to:

• Ghost – Skeletá
• Desert Artemisia – Jim Jackson

All work and no play make Rob a dull boy, so cheers!

I incorrectly assumed that January would be light. It was not. Neither was February. A chaos tornado of every goddamn thing you can imagine, only made worse by world affairs.

Spring is near. I can feel it in my old bones.

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I’m hoping to find more time to write more in 2025!

Current projects:

• Working away on a story called ‘Red Lantern’ for the next Purgatorio Curio titled Terrace IV: Noonday Demon.
• Working on a Sword & Sorcery story called ‘Shore’.
• Completed and revised a Sword & Sorcery story called ‘Chitin’.

Next publications:

• My story prairie gothic story ‘Blackdamp’ will be in a book titled Desert Artemisia, out Spring of 2025
• A flash titled ‘To the Bone’ will be coming out the Spring of 2025 – details to follow once I can reveal them.
• My cosmic horror novel A Queen in Amber will be out Summer of 2025.
• A short story titled ‘Eden’ coming out in the Fall of 2025 in the Prairie Devil anthology.

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Due to the current wild world instability, I’ve decided to can my trip to Utah for the Zion Ultra and instead do the more local Klondike Ultra in June. Then, rather regrettably, I’ll be running Death Race again – thankfully only the Near Death Marathon this time.

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Recent movies and television:

• Goosebumps 2025 Season
• Shoresy on Crave

I’m currently reading:

• Immaculate Scoundrels by John R. Fultz
• Book of Blades II and III
• To Walk on Worlds by Matthew John (Done – two thumbs up)
• Welgar the Cursed by David A. Riley (Done – two thumbs up)
• Old Moon Quarterly Volume 8 (Laird Barron, Langan and Fultz! – so good)
• Savage Realms Monthly – multiple issues (always entertaining)

I’m currently listening to:

• The Cure – Disintegration
• FM – Tonight

Well, that’s a wrap on 2024. A bit turbulent, never dull, and successful on most counts. And now it’s shiny new 2025, the glorious future, where I’m still waiting for flying cars (which would, honestly, be a terrible nuisance) and Fusion power, but hey, at least we get overhyped and garbage A.I. everything blasted in our face from every goddamn direction.

I capped the year off by getting out of town for Christmas spending a week in gloriously warm Victoria with my besties. Much running, many cocktails, and maximum chilling ensued.

January looks light. A time for getting new projects up and running. After putting The Seventh Terrace (Press) on hiatus last year to focus on personal writing, Sarah and I will be diving back into the publishing fray with some fabulous books already in the pipe.

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I’m hoping to find more time to write more in 2025!

Current projects:

• Writing a Sword & Sorcery story tentatively called ‘Chitin’.
• Outlining a story called ‘Red Lantern’ for the next Purgatorio Curio titled Terrace IV: Noonday Demon.
• Completed my prairie gothic short story called ‘Blackdamp’, set at the Atlas Mine in the Badlands of Drumheller. It will be part of a new Badlands project targeted for the Spring 2025.

Next publications:

• My cosmic horror novel A Queen in Amber should be out some time next year. It’s inching forward, just waiting for art.
• A flash titled ‘To the Bone’ will be coming out the Spring of 2025 – details to follow once I can reveal them.
• A short story titled ‘Eden’ coming out in the Spring of 2025 in the Prairie Devil anthology.
• Working on new collection of short stories. It will be called Die Jobs.

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Completed my annual December run streak without terribly mangling myself. Mostly. Managed around 300km, so around 10km a day average, which isn’t close to my pre-injury mileage, but I’ll take it.

My next ultra-trail race will be the Frozen Ass Fifty in February. Then off to Utah in April for the Zion Ultra. Then, horribly, I’ll be running Death Race again – thankfully only the Near Death Marathon this time. Not committing to any others ‘just yet’ but…

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Recent movies and television:

• Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy – On the second season now and loving it. Fabulous show and inspiring food.
• Post Mortem – A Hungarian movie about a soldier who narrowly escapes death in WWI and becomes a photographer who photographs the dead.

I’m currently reading:

• To Rouse Leviathan by Matt Cardin – Loving it so far!
• Lilith by George MacDonald – An old one from 1895, but excellent.
• Conan: City of the Dead by John C. Hocking – Listening on audiobook. Does Conan proud.

I’m currently listening to:

• NiN – Pretty Hate Machine
• Jane’s Addiction – Ritual de lo Habitual 

I, along with Sarah L. Pratt, had the pleasure of participating in the first Smells like Genre event at the Wild Rose Brewery on November 7th. It was organized by the fabulous Randy Nikkel Schroeder through the English Department of Mount Royal University (with photo’s by Bill Bunn) and we had a great time talking publishing with the students. The next one is in February and we’ll definitely be there in some capacity.

And there are a number of cool events coming up including the launch of Goblincore at Owls Nest Books on November 21st. Sarah has a story in this one. Mine was apparently too dark 🤔, but I managed to sell it elsewhere.

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Writing/Publishing

Work work (aka paying job) is taking most of my time, but chipping away at various projects.

Current projects:

• Completed the first draft and revision of a prairie gothic short story called Blackdamp, set at the Atlas Mine in the Badlands of Drumheller. It will be part of a new Badlands project for next year.
• The next TST Purgatorio book. It’s about sloth and will be titled Terrace IV: Noonday Demon.

Next publications:

• My cosmic horror novel A Queen in Amber should be out some time next year. It’s inching forward, just waiting for art.
• A flash titled ‘To the Bone’ will be coming out the Spring of 2025 – details to follow once I can reveal them.
• A short story titled ‘Eden’ coming out in the Spring of 2025 in the Prairie Devil anthology.
• Started assembling a new collection of short stories. It will be called Die Jobs.

Running

My next ultra-trail race will be the Frozen Ass Fifty in February. Then, I’ll be off to Utah in April for the Zion Ultra. Then, horribly, I’ll be running Death Race again – thankfully only the Near Death Marathon this time (which is bad enough).

What I’m Watching – TV

Doctor Odyssey. Love Boat meets Scrubs. Episodes are bit uneven, but it’s providing entertainment.

Farming for Love (Season 1) – We know who to blame.

Grotesquerie (Season 1) – Interesting, but the body horror is bit much for me honestly.

Bob’s Burgers (Season 15) – Always awesome.

What I’m Watching – Movies

What Is Buried Must Remain – Great movie set in Lebanon. Superb cinematography and a unique take on haunted houses.

All We Need is Death – Always into movies set in the past (in this case 45k years ago). I like it, mostly.

What I’m Reading

To Raise Leviathan by Matt Cardin – Loving it so far!

Coup de Grâce By Sofia Ajram – Well written, though the deep dive into despair and bleakness isn’t really my thing.

What I’m Listening To

The Craftwork Podcast (Mike Thorn and Miriam Richer)

Pixies

Jane’s Addiction

Good news, everyone! Big news. Or at least long news. A cat now owns us. Welcome Randall Leslie Ravencroft the 43rd to to the manor. Part demon, part vacuum, part affection seeking engine, our lives are now to be lived in eternal servitude.

And in other news, I (along with Sarah, the actually competent half of The Seventh Terrace) have been invited as guests at Noir at the Wildroom Taproom for the first Smells like Genre event on November 7th, organized by the most excellent Randy Nikkel Schroeder. We’ll be talking noir and writing and publishing and such. Come on down and check it out.

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Writing/Publishing

So much to do, so little time. The Seventh Terrace press staff (Sarah and I) have been taking 2025 off to work on our own projects (since writing and publishing AND doing a billion other things just wasn’t enjoyable), but we have started getting our 2025 publishing plans rolling. Yeehaw!

Current projects:

• Currently working on a story called Blackdamp, set at the Atlas Mine in the Badlands of Drumheller. It’s coming along nicely.
• Kicked off the next TST Purgatorio book. It’s about sloth and will be titled Terrace IV: Noonday Demon. We came up with amazing concept for it, can’t wait to get going on it.
• MANY other projects. Too many…

Next publications:

• My cosmic horror novel A Queen in Amber should be out late fall or winter. It’s inching forward, just waiting for art.
• A flash titled ‘To the Bone’ will be coming out the Spring of 2025 – details to follow once I can reveal them.
• A short story titled ‘Eden’ coming out in the Spring of 2025 in the Prairie Devil anthology.

Running

Race season is over, so time for recovery and cross-training for a few months. Next race will be the Frozen Ass Fifty in February. Then, I’ll be off to Utah in April for the Zion Ultra.

What I’m Watching – TV

Doctor Odyssey. It’s like the Love Boat meets Scrubs. Or something. Campy with a lot of heart, I’m already enjoying it.

Futurama Season 10. Episodes thus far are a bit uneven, but even lesser Futurama is still great fun.

What I’m Watching – Movies

Abagail – Weird, campy vampire kidnapping/heist.

The Watchers – Interesting, but full of damn plot holes imho.

Jackpot – Bloody hilarious. I’d watch anything with Awkwafina and John Cena.

Oddity/Caveat. I liked Oddity more than Caveat, but they both had great atmosphere. I look forward to more from Damian McCarthy.

Death is All You Need – I don’t think I understood this one. At all.

What I’m Reading

Crypt of the Moon Spider by Nathan Ballingrud. Very weird and very different – in a good way. Looking forward to the next two novellas in this trilogy.

Hellboy: An Assortment of Horrors. Listening to the audio book. Some excellent stories in this one.

Outsider: An Old Man, a Mountain and the Search for a Hidden Past by Brett Popplewell. Love this one. Non-fiction account of Dag Aabye, an amazing character. He unfortunately stopped running Death Race a couple of years before I started, it would have been awesome to meet him.

Khyber by Chadwick Ginther. A fun collection of S&S stories. Interesting shared world.

Weird Horror Magazine #9. Always great!

What I’m Listening To

The Crafwork Podcast (Mike Thorn and Miriam Richer)

Dwarf Metal (Wind Rose and such)

Ghost